Case study:RSPB Blean Meander Restoration

This case study is pending approval by a RiverWiki administrator.

Approve case study

 

0.00

(0 votes)

To discuss or comment on this case study, please use the discussion page.

Location: 51° 17' 59.72" N, 1° 1' 8.83" E

Edit location

Loading map...

{"format":"googlemaps3","type":"HYBRID","minzoom":false,"maxzoom":false,"types":["ROADMAP","SATELLITE","HYBRID","TERRAIN"],"limit":50,"offset":0,"link":"all","sort":[""],"order":[],"headers":"show","mainlabel":"","intro":"","outro":"","searchlabel":"... further results","default":"","import-annotation":false,"width":"auto","height":"400px","centre":false,"title":"","label":"","icon":"","lines":[],"polygons":[],"circles":[],"rectangles":[],"copycoords":false,"static":false,"visitedicon":"","wmsoverlay":false,"zoom":14,"layers":[],"controls":["pan","zoom","type","scale","streetview","rotate"],"zoomstyle":"DEFAULT","typestyle":"DEFAULT","autoinfowindows":false,"resizable":false,"kmlrezoom":false,"poi":true,"cluster":false,"clustergridsize":60,"clustermaxzoom":20,"clusterzoomonclick":true,"clusteraveragecenter":true,"clusterminsize":2,"imageoverlays":[],"kml":[],"gkml":[""],"searchmarkers":"","fullscreen":false,"scrollwheelzoom":false,"showtitle":false,"hidenamespace":true,"template":"Location map popup","userparam":"","activeicon":"","pagelabel":false,"ajaxcoordproperty":"","ajaxquery":"","locations":[{"text":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr /\u003E\n\u003C/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cb\u003EProject Title:\u003C/b\u003E RSPB Blean Meander Restoration\n\u003C/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cb\u003ECountry:\u003C/b\u003E \u003Ca href=\"/wiki/index.php?title=England\" title=\"England\"\u003EEngland\u003C/a\u003E\n\u003C/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cb\u003EProject Status:\u003C/b\u003E Complete\n\u003C/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cb\u003EThemes:\u003C/b\u003E Hydromorphology\n\u003C/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr /\u003E\n\u003C/p\u003E","title":"RSPB Blean Meander Restoration","link":"","lat":51.299923475963,"lon":1.0191207693166,"icon":"/wiki/images/a/af/Red_marker.png"}]}

Left click to look around in the map, and use the wheel of your mouse to zoom in and out.

Project overview

Edit project overview

Status	Complete
Project web site	http://www.rspb.org.uk/about-the-rspb/about-us/media-centre/press-releases/major-kent-landscape-restoration-project-hailed-as-a-great-success-for-local-wildlife-and-people/
Themes	Flood risk management, Habitat and biodiversity, Hydromorphology
Country	England
Main contact forename	Ruby
Main contact surname	Merriman
Main contact user ID	User:Ruby
Contact organisation	RSPB
Contact organisation web site
Partner organisations
Parent multi-site project
This is a parent project encompassing the following projects	No

This case study hasn’t got a picture, you can add one by editing the project overview.

Project summary

Edit project overview to modify the project summary.

A massive year-long project in Kent which saw the large-scale restoration and creation of 228ha of wetlands, restoration of four woodland sites totalling 1400ha, and intensive management of one grassland site, has just completed. Seasalter Levels, a wetland to the west of Whitstable. The other three aspects were: Blean Woods - four pockets of woodland across Kent including RSPB Blean Woods nature reserve near Canterbury, and Wraik Hill to the south-west of Whitstable, now have a more certain future, thanks to the work of the project.

Funds totalling £1.9 million from the Green Recovery Challenge Fund, enabled the RSPB and Kent Wildlife Trust to work in partnership with Canterbury City Council to deliver this incredible work.

Seasalter Levels - The Seasalter Levels site had been neglected for decades prior to a partnership coming together in 2007 to help manage the site and develop it into a nature reserve. Despite this work, many parts of the site remained in poor condition and this project focused on those areas by installing new features to retain water and opportunities for animals to graze as part of its ongoing management, including:

• Installation of dams, embankments, dykes and pipework
• Restoration of 2.1km of ditches
• Creation of 119,246sqm shallow water channels across the site
• Installation of fences, gates, corrals and a bridge to keep cattle in
• Clearing of invasive plant species from waterways
• As a result of this work, the site will be more resilient to climate change by enabling water to be retained on the grazing marsh during the spring and summer months when birds such as lapwing and redshank are raising families. It will also provide a ‘stepping-stone site’ for species that are predicted to move into new geographical areas to live due to the changing climate.

Seasalter Levels which is recognised as a Special Protection Area (SPA), Ramsar site, Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and a Local Nature Reserve (LNR), will now truly thrive as a sanctuary for breeding and wintering wildfowl and waders, water voles, rare invertebrates and plants.

It is hoped the site will be opened up for guided walks in the future.

Monitoring surveys and results

This case study hasn’t got any Monitoring survey and results, you can add some by editing the project overview.

Lessons learnt

This case study hasn’t got any lessons learnt, you can add some by editing the project overview.

Image gallery

Edit Image gallery

Catchment and subcatchment Select a catchment/subcatchment Site Edit site Name WFD water body codes WFD (national) typology WFD water body name Pre-project morphology Reference morphology Desired post project morphology Heavily modified water body National/international site designation Local/regional site designations Protected species present Invasive species present Species of interest Dominant hydrology Dominant substrate River corridor land use Average bankfull channel width category Average bankfull channel width (m) Average bankfull channel depth category Average bankfull channel depth (m) Mean discharge category Mean annual discharge (m3/s) Average channel gradient category Average channel gradient Average unit stream power (W/m2) Project background Edit project background Reach length directly affected (m) Project started Works started Works completed Project completed Total cost category Total cost (k€) Benefit to cost ratio Funding sources Cost for project phases Phase cost category cost exact (k€) Lead organisation Contact forename Contact surname Investigation and design Stakeholder engagement and communication Works and works supervision Post-project management and maintenance Monitoring Reasons for river restoration Edit reasons for restoration Mitigation of a pressure Hydromorphology Biology Physico-chemical Other reasons for the project Measures Edit Measures Structural measures Bank/bed modifications Floodplain / River corridor Planform / Channel pattern Other Non-structural measures Management interventions Social measures (incl. engagement) Other Monitoring Hydromorphological quality elements Edit Hydromorphological quality elements Element When monitored Type of monitoring Control site used Result Before measures After measures Qualitative Quantitative Biological quality elements Edit biological quality elements Element When monitored Type of monitoring Control site used Result Before measures After measures Qualitative Quantitative Physico-chemical quality elements Edit Physico-chemical quality elements Element When monitored Type of monitoring Control site used Result Before measures After measures Qualitative Quantitative Any other monitoring, e.g. social, economic Edit Other responses Element When monitored Type of monitoring Control site used Result Before measures After measures Qualitative Quantitative Monitoring documents Upload monitoring documents Additional documents and videos Upload additional documents Additional links and references Edit links and references Link Description Supplementary Information Edit Supplementary Information